Anyone try paragliding?

In article .com, tuttie wrote:
1. You are under a wing that can and does collapse. In fact, in any
sort of thermally conditions you *will* experience a partial to full
deflation.

Really? The paragliding people around here go out and *soar* their
paragliders quite deliberately in thermal conditions. They get some
pretty good altitude gains too. Sometimes they make us glider pilots a
bit envious because they can launch straight into the lift. If we're
using the winch, if there's no lift in the immediate vicinity of the
airfield we are stuffed...

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"

I hope my contribution is not counter-productive, but I also have a friend who
was injured paragliding, and could easily have been killed. He hurt his back
in a hard landing, after a deflation - he lived , but won't be doing any more
sporting activities. What scares me about it is, according to his account of
the incident, there was a nothing he could have done to predict or prevent
this event, and b nothing he could do about it once he was caught in it.

This is different from aviation, where virtually everything that is likely to
befall us is the direct result of our actions, and we have, at least
theoretically a the possibility to preclude them from happening, and b the
possibility to recover from many situations, even after we have allowed
ourselves to get into them.

I have no business (or desire) in trying to scare someone away from something
that millions enjoy, and that I know little about - but that helplessness
doesn't sound like fun to me. I won't be joining you up there, even if the
open air must be exhilirating.

G Faris

Greg Farris wrote:

the incident, there was a nothing he could have done to predict or prevent
this event,

I simply don't buy this. He made a mistake. Modern paragliders don't
"just collapse".

and b nothing he could do about it once he was caught in it.

If high enough, modern paragliders will recover, and if everything
fails, responsible paraglider pilots wear a security chute. If not high
enough, though... well, then you're in about the same situation as in a
low spin.

I don't know about the place you live, but where I live, there are
usually a lot more paragliders in the air than aircraft. Despite this,
at the end of each year, there are more dead aircraft pilots than dead
paraglider pilots. Of course, if you see die your best friend, you don't
care about statistics.

Stefan

Greg Farris wrote:

the incident, there was a nothing he could have done to predict or prevent

I simply don't buy this. He made a mistake. Modern paragliders don't
"just collapse". His mistake may have been as simple as flying in
unflyable conditions.

this event, and b nothing he could do about it once he was caught in it.

If high enough, modern paragliders will usually recover. and if
everything fails, responsible paraglider pilots wear a security chute.
If not high enough, though... well, then you're in about the same
situation as in a low spin.

I don't know about the place you live, but where I live, there are
usually a lot more paragliders in the air than aircraft. Despite this,
at the end of each year, there are more dead aircraft pilots than dead
paraglider pilots.

As I said, there is always some risk in every flying. And if you see die
your best friend, you don't care about statistics, of course.

Stefan

Yes. And if you had ever been in a paraglider yourself in a thermal
you would know that you often experience partial deflations. It is not
visible from the ground looking up, but it does happen and often.

Of course, some are trained enough to deal with partial
deflations..and some chutes are more resistant to them than others.

My statement stands though: If you thermal in a paraglider you *will*
experience deflations.

Antonio

Antoñio wrote:

Yes. And if you had ever been in a paraglider yourself in a thermal
you would know that you often experience partial deflations.
....
My statement stands though: If you thermal in a paraglider you *will*
experience deflations.

Of course, I agree on this. But a partial deflation is not the same
thing as a collapsing canopee. A partial deflation is not inherently
dangerous. (More precisely: It is dangerous, if you're not adequately
trained, as are all aviation activities.)

Stefan

Stefan wrote:
Anto=F1io wrote:

Yes. And if you had ever been in a paraglider yourself in a
thermal
you would know that you often experience partial deflations.
...
My statement stands though: If you thermal in a paraglider you
*will*
experience deflations.

Of course, I agree on this. But a partial deflation is not the same
thing as a collapsing canopee. A partial deflation is not inherently
dangerous. (More precisely: It is dangerous, if you're not adequately

trained, as are all aviation activities.)

Stefan

You say it is and it is not dangerous in the same paragraph. You don't
seem to realize that a full collapse begins with a wing tip deflation.
A deflation can go unrecognized even by an expert until it's too late.


You also failed to reply to my comment about ever having been in a
paraglider. Have you ever actually flown a paraglider?

I once flew a paraglider off of a 6000 ft mountain at about 10am when
the thermals were not yet developed. I launched, and had been flying
about 30 seconds when I noticed the relative wind pick up *beneath* me.
I looked down because I though it was kind of odd.

What I didn't realize was that I was falling and picking up speed. I
looked up just in time to see my paraglider reopen on its own. I was
very lucky it held together.

Later, my friends who had been watching my launch described my chute as
"a wadded ball of aluminum foil".

So don't tell me that paragliders don't collapse! =20

Antonio